The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-11-17

sASSoy 0hA OAA OAu uC0u AOkS tAlb PbidSlLO
makes its home. Tho category of dis
eases to which we are liable men
tions fungus growth Of flesh
and fungous tumors assailing our we'll
being. Quietly they come, and swiftly.
these fungi. DR.. 6chweinitz, q noted au-
thority on fungi, records that black
smith, being suddenly called from his
shop. threw a bar of iron, on which he
had been engaged, across his trough.
The next morning he was amazed to find
growth Of fungus attached to the bar
from which 1t had extended to some ad.
jacent wood. The growth was two feet
in length. and this growth had taken place
in twelve hours. No doubt your wife has
called you at times to share her dismay
at the sight Of skim Of white mold on
her preserves. Certainly you have found
your old boots covered with white sub
stance, in wet weather especially. You
say this is mold, q disagreeable substance
which has the knack of coming where it
is not wanted. Really it is a vegetable,
member of the fungus family. Put
some yeast in your dough and find in the
morning mass of light wholesome bread
Who did this work? A lot of tiny fungi;
useful fungus thus contrasting favora-
ably with its mushroom kinsmen, the
wheat and oat rust, the ergot, the corn
smut and potato rot.
The most popular and well-known of
the fungus family is the mushroom.
Most of US have gone out, some damp,
warm morning, and gathered this deli
cate vegetable and an appetite in an old
pasture field. 1t is of ancient lineage, the
mushroom. Pliny writes of it and it has
a score of names. Its habitat is as wide
as its pedigree is long, for the SHOWS of
Boreal regions do not discourage its
growth, nor does the heat of the tropics
lessen It's energy. With US the unculti-
waited mushroom is chiefly found in the
garden or in old fields Just after
warm shower. Notice full-grown
mushroom carefully and you will find
ring around the stalk about half way down
from the pileus or umbrella like expan-
sion at the top. When young the pileus
was united to the stalk at this point, at
which time the plant resembled white
button. As maturity approached it broke
away and expanded. Turn the mushroom
upside down and you will see under this
top multitude of pinkish gills, radiating
from the centre. On the surface of these
gills are the spores or reproductive ele-
ment of the plant, analogous to the seed
of a weed or the nut of tree 1t is not,
however, generally propagated from these
spores, but from spawn, the dry, thready
mass found at the base of the stock.
The mushroom grows in the gar
den, but better in q damp situation,
such as cave. read some time ago
that q project was on foot to utilize an
abandoned mine near Chicago as grow
ing place for these eatables. As
these fungi are delicious eating, it
is unfortunate that fear of nox-
ious qualities deters many from en-
joying them. DR.. Badham in his work
ON "Esculent Fungi writes as follows
II have indeed grieved when l reflected
on the straitened conditions of the lower
orders this year, to see pounds innu-
merable of extempore beefsteaks grow
ing on our oaks in the shape of Nstulina
bepatica, with Agartcus tusipes to pickle, in
some of our friends have compared
to sweetbreads, for the rich delicacy
of their unsssisted flavor Hydua, as good
as oysters, which they somewhat resem-
BILE in taste; Agaricus deliciasus, remind
ing us offender lamb kidneys; the beauti-
full Chautusl!s, growing by the bushel, and
NO basket but our own to pick up few
specimens by the way; the sweet nutty.
favored Boletus, in vain calling himself
edu1is when there was none to believe
him." Does not such a list make one
long to 60 marketing in the woods? !
know how the BOletus tastes and the
Cnautuels, but the others are strangers to
my palate.
The unscientitic man divides fung
into two divisions-mushrooms which
are wholesome, and toad-stools, which
are poisonous, whereas the botanist
knows them alike as toad-stools and de.
clares only few varieties are poisonous
By the way, who was the unromantic
gross soul that dubbed these plants
toad-stoolsa Look at group in the
woods, close to some old oak. As small
as q button, some of them, Others
as large 40 saucer; some drab
colored like Quaker, another q pale
yellow, then big fellow with pale
brown tinge, reminding one of nicely
cooked johnny cake some of greenisl
hue, others pink and brick red. To thinl
of an ugly toad having such dainty fur
niture. Out ON the thought Tablel
rather, where Queen Nab and her retinu,
feast nightly ON honey from the roses
served on violet leaves, and quaffed tn,
ice-cold dew gathered from the petals O
the hyacinth In dainty cups Of forget-me
not blossoms.
There is one poisonous fungus which
10 found in the woods. 1t grows ON
long stalk, while on its pileus are larg,
white protubersnces As the pileus Il
sometimes six inches In diameter, II 10
handsome plant, but extremely poison
ous. A variety of this fungus is found
In Kamtchatks which possesses th'
!; power Of producing intoxication. It Il
gathered and dried with care, and, whel
Kamtchatkan desires . little hilarity
be swallows . morsel and Is gratiiet
with o long drunk Now will mention
! fungus which is familiar to every coun
try b0y-touchwood or punk-s hard
woody sxcrescence growing like
d bracket on trunks of trees. This sub
stance has the property Of being lumin
ous n the dark. II y parasite and II